Trout frustrated at another season spoiled by injury

ANAHEIM » As another disappointing, injury-spoiled season came to an end, Mike Trout had trouble controlling his emotions.

A day after the Angels officially ended Trout's season by moving him to the 60-day injured list, Trout stood at his locker on Monday in front of reporters and television cameras. He was visibly uncomfortable, his voice cracking.

“It's frustrating,” Trout said. “It's better now, obviously, but I wanted to get back. It's tough. It's been hard on me.”

Later, he said: “It kills me not being out there.”

The 32-year-old threetime American League MVP has seen the narrative of his career change over the last three seasons. He missed most of 2021 with a strained calf and half of 2023 with a fractured hamate bone. In between, a back injury cost him five weeks in 2022.

After the calf and back issues, Trout committed to changes in his preparation.

“Went into the offseason with a plan,” Trout said. “Hired a lot of people to work on my body. My body felt great. A freak thing happened. Broke my hand.”

Trout fractured the hamate bone in his left hand on July 3. He had surgery to remove the bone a couple of days later. He tried to come back on Aug. 22, but he felt too much pain and had to go back on the injured list.

“Came back probably sooner than I should have,” Trout said. “I wanted to be out there with the guys. Pushed it. It was just sore. I was uncomfortable. When I came back, I was in pain. My swing wasn't right. Just wasn't myself. I was taking it day by day, trying to wait for the soreness and discomfort to go away and it never did.

“Now, giving it a few extra weeks off, it's going away. I've been swinging. Obviously, I'm not going to come back but I just want to get my head straight for the offseason. Clear my mind. Just have a healthy offseason.”

The offseason also means questions about his future, which Trout addressed no differently than he has in the past.

He said he plans to have conversations with management — including owner Arte Moreno and president

John Carpino — about the direction of the team.

“I go through this every year,” Trout said. “They're private conversations I have with Arte and John. I'm doing the same thing I did the last 13 years. Going into the offseason, clear my mind, getting ready for spring and wearing an Angels uniform in the spring.”

Other than his mention of “wearing an Angels uniform,” and a separate reference to the “seven years left on my contract,” Trout never completely dismissed the idea of asking for a trade. He has a no-trade clause.

For practical purposes, trading Trout would be difficult. Considering his age, recent injuries and the fact that he's set to make $35.45 million per year for those seven years, it would be impossible for the Angels to trade Trout without eating a significant amount of his salary. They certainly wouldn't get back any kind of franchise-altering young talent in return from a team that was willing to take Trout at this point in his career.

The reason that some suspect Trout would want to be traded is that the Angels have failed to put a winning team around him for the last nine years of his Hall of Fame career. But Trout acknowledged on Monday that he is not simply a victim in this case.

When asked how important it was for him to get to the playoffs, he put the focus back on how much his injuries have contributed to the team's problems.

“The biggest thing, from a personal standpoint, is playing a full season,” Trout said. “I think getting back to that, and avoiding these bigtime injuries ... I think doing that will lead to success for sure.”

Regarding Shohei Ohtani, Trout said he plans to talk to Ohtani to try to convince him to return to the Angels, but he has no idea what he is thinking right now with free agency looming.

“People ask me this all the time, `Where is Shohei gonna go?'” Trout said. “I couldn't tell you. It's up to him. You gotta ask him. Ultimately it comes down to his decision. He hasn't said anything to me. He keeps it quiet. Just does his own stuff. As a teammate, just give him his privacy. It's his decision. He's gonna do what's right for him. We'll see where that goes.”